The girl who never cries
by Tomoe2
Summary: Kakashi thought that he was done dealing with his past when a girl he had forgotten comes back to Konoha, forcing him to face a part of himself he had wished to keep burried.
1. Nagai Aida

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (though I wish Kakashi was mine hehehe). Mirin and her family are characters I created, but I'll lend them to you gladly if you ask!

This might contain spoilers, I've been watching Naruto up until now and I've read the manga part on Kakashi on narutochushin. My story might not conform itself to the real story, but please forgive and enjoy! The story happens before the sound ninja attacked Konoha.

The girl who never cries

Chapter I Nagai Aida

Perched on a Tori on the bridge near the Shinto sanctuary, Kakashi was briefing his team on their next mission. Since things were pretty quiet recently, missions were quite simple. Help old ladies with the cleaning of their garden, pick up trash along the river, etc. Today was not different, the next mission would be to help the preschoolers prepare their ninja festival. If Sakura seemed pretty happy about the idea, Naruto had yet to make up his mind about it since he was too busy picturing himself Sasuke playing with the kids. As for the Sasuke, his face was emotionless, as usual.

"So, everybody meets me here at 7am tomorrow morning, clear?" said Kakashi.

Coming out of his mental imagery, Naruto jumped on his feet and pointed at Kakashi, accusingly.

"You mean WE meet here at 7am and YOU join us at school at noon!"

Kakashi put his hand behind his head and grinned.

"Mah… Sou kamo ne!"

Naruto glared at Kakashi, Sakura joining. Sasuke rolled his eyes, ready to leave already. The silver haired teacher jumped off the Tori and was about to dismiss them when he saw Gai running toward them with a cloud of dust. Someone seemed to be following him closely.

Trouble coming right at'cha, Kakashi thought, turning the other way around. Lifting his hand in the air, he waved at the kids, walking away. To run away from Gai would have been the worst of mistake, it was better to pretend not to have seen him.

But this time, Gai would not let Kakashi go. As soon as he got in hearing range, he started shouting at Kakashi, asking him to wait.

"Matte! Kakashi! I found someone!"

Kakashi sighed. Who was it this time? After the bald fortune teller and the wart curing oracle what could he possibly have found this time? He walked a bit faster, hoping Gai would get discourage, which he knew was impossible.

"KA-KA-SHI! WAIT ! Someone really important has returned! She is here to see you! ..rin is here!"

Kakashi stopped. A volley of bird crossing the sky noisily had prevented him from hearing the person's full name. Rin? Rin was back? How could it be? But he had heard the name! And this person was here to see him! Who else could it have been? Even though he had witnessed her death, maybe it all had been a misunderstanding. Maybe she had survived. Unable to stop his curiosity, he turned around and in two jumps he was back to the bridge.

"Ri…" The word died in his throat as he heard it. That little bell, he could never have forgotten it. Even before he saw the young lady who was now standing shyly next to his rival he had realised his mistake. What was SHE doing there? Cursing his own stupidity, Kakashi glared at a beaming Gai. No wonder the guy was so happy. He snorted and turned to the kids.

"Be here tomorrow, clear?" he said with an icy voice.

The three geinin nodded promptly with fear. They had never seen Kakashi's eye so emotionless. For a few seconds, he looked as if he was dead. But before they had time to give him a second glance, he was gone, without even giving a single look to the lady. Nobody said a word, but Naruto noticed that the girl was still smiling softly. She was quite pretty. He brown hair was tied up in a complex knot and her kimono was exquisite. Two white cranes were flying in the dark blue of the fabric. At the lower end, the blue was becoming lighter, almost white, picturing snow. The obi was white with silver tread and two little bells held by a silver ribbon were hanging from the knot in the back. Naruto had never seen such a beautiful thing in a village where everybody wore ninja gear. He smiled back and broke the heavy silence.

"Ne, ne, ne! Who is the pretty lady?" he asked Gai, jumping up and down.

Gai, more than happy of the change of atmosphere, took his 'nice guy" smile and proudly introduced the girl.

"Her name is Ots…" he started, but the girl herself interrupted the man.

"My name is Mirin. Pleased to meet you."


	2. Shapes and colors

Chapter 2

Shapes and colors

Naruto and Sakura were sitting in the staircase leading to the Sandaime's office. They had accompanied Mirin who wished to meet with the leader of the village. Sasuke, as for himself, had preferred to go back to his training. Curiosity was indeed Sakura's and Naruto's week point. On the way they had spoken mostly of the village and how it had changed in the last decade. Mirin had listened with great interest to Naruto's theories and laughed wholeheartedly whenever he and Sakura had started to fight. As for Gai, he had kept silence, only smiling, which was quite unusual. The exuberant sensei was known for his incessant babbling, but for the moment, he had kept on looking at the newcomer with affection. Not much had been said on Mirin herself, and the two kids, impressed by her high-class image had kept from asking. But now that they were alone, the urge to get answers grew stronger.

"Ne, Sakura-chan? Why do you think Kakashi-sensei left so fast?" Asked Naruto, stretching his arms over his head.

"Hummm… I don't know. But his eye was so scary. And his voice! It gave me the chills!"

"Me too." Admitted the young boy. Why would he leave like that?" Naruto frowned, thinking. Then he hit his palm with his fist with an illuminated look on his face. "I know! She must be his ex-wife!"

Sakura hit Naruto's head with her fist.

"That's impossible, Ba-ka! Kakashi has always been single, Iruka-sensei told me!"

Naruto, rubbing his head gave her an interested look.

"Hehehe… You and Iruka-sensei discuss weird things. Why did you two talk about THAT?"

Sakura blushed.

"What are you insinuating. We were just talking and…"

'Masaka! You had a crush on Kakashi-sensei?" This last question owed Naruto another solid punch.

"Don't say stupid things!" She shouted in a really manly and scary voice.

"Who had a crush on who?"Asked Gai with a large grin.

"Nobody!" Answered Sakura, glaring at Naruto. "Where is Mirin-san?"

"With the Sandaime, he wanted to talk to her in private."

Sarutobi was standing in front of the window, his back to Mirin. His hands were joined in his back. Mirin was sitting on an orange couch, facing the desk of the old man. The woman was looking around with curious and joyful eyes, trying to fill the decade of absence from this place. The Sandaime's office had been a place where she had often played as a kid, while her dad was debating with the council in the room next door. To play outside in these warring times was dangerous, so most of the time; Mirin had been playing in that room. There had been other kids too. Obito, Rin, Gai and of course Kakashi. Back then, things were quite simple. Four years olds don't really make the difference between friends and foe, so they all played together, regardless of their parents' conflicts. Mirin had played with Kakashi in that room… On that very rug that covered the wooden floor.

The Sandaime clearing his throat brought her back to reality swiftly, but a melancholic smile remained on her face.

"Otsu…" Started the old man.

"Mirin." Corrected the woman.

The Sandaime turned around with a calm smile on his lips.

"I see that you haven't change, Mirin. But that also fills me with concern for your safety."

Sarutobi paused to look in the deep brown eyes of the girl. They were so full of warmth and kindness.

"We both know what happened back then. No. I don't want you to protest, just listen to me. I know what happened. Even though I wasn't there Mirin, it has always been my role to protect the villagers. I have ears and eyes everywhere, so please don't think you can fool me with your stories. I know how you felt about him and I know that you still feel the same by the way you insist on that silly nickname. But please, think about your health, your safety. I know he has changed and he is doing a wonderful job with the kids, but keep in mind that he is the same person that hurt you years ago. I don't know what happened to you in the last few years, but I hope that it at least made you reflect on these sad events. I'm not saying you should not get close to him; you are free to do as you please, but be careful. You two are not kids anymore, if things turn bad, the consequences could be catastrophic. You actions could break both of your lives…"

The Sandaime, which had been walking around during his lecture turned around to face Mirin once more. He found her still smiling. His heart hurt for her. She would never understand. The woman stood up.

"I understand. Please don't worry too much about me."

She bowed deeply, her bells ringing. Sarutobi couldn't help but shiver at the sound.

"Since your clan left the village a long time ago, the houses have been deserted and are in quite a bad state. Also, there's not much place where you can stop because of the upcoming final of the chuunin exam. Should you need help to find somewhere…" Said the old man, turning back to the window.

"Thank you, but Naruto-kun had already kindly offered me to stay at his place. I should be fine, but thank you for the concern."

As he heard Mirin's bell ringing in the distance as she left, Sarutobi could not help but think that this situation would only bring trouble.

"Naruto ka…" The old man whispered

One hand on each side of the mirror Kakashi looked at himself in his small room. The cries of small children could be heard in the distance. In the crude noon sunlight, his face expressed nothing. No emotion. He kept looking at himself. His sharingan. Slowly, with one hand he pulled down his mask and looked at his face. His mouth. His nose. With a flash, he saw the image of a beaten up little girl smiling to him. Kakashi closed his eyes and frowned. That face… So connected with his. With this mask. Kakashi took a deep breath, trying to keep the long forgotten emotions deep down inside. Clenching his jaw, exhaled slowly and opened his eyes. The same bastard was looking back at him in the mirror. Before he could even think, the glass lay shattered at his feet, his fist bleeding. Kakashi slowly seated himself on the floor and looked at his bloody hand, shaking. With his other hand, he pulled up his mask up. This was indeed, dangerous.


End file.
